A Monthly Meeting You’re Not Allowed to Miss

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law In an earlier article I talked about the importance of setting goals for the year and clearly communicating them in a motivational way to your associate attorneys and staff at an annual “kickoff” meeting in January. As a follow-up to that meeting, you should also be holding a once a month firm meeting to continue the momentum towards achieving your goals. This monthly firm meeting is a very important one that you simply cannot miss (nor can anyone else)….

More Clients, Better Clients

By Joseph J. Strazzeri, Esq. Quality referrals are the lifeblood of a growing practice. New clients tend to come from one of four sources: 1) current clients, 2) other advisors, 3) educational events, and 4) the internet. For the practitioner that does the technical work and markets the firm, it is critical to understand whether you want more clients and/or better clients, and to have a plan on how to obtain them – because there is only so much time in a month. Time management and a team-driven, repeatable process offer not only a great business solution but a quality…

The Three “D’s” of Being a Better Assistant (and More Efficient Assistant)

By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant | Volume 2, Issue 5 (May 2014) Whether you’re a busy executive or the assistant to a busy executive, you know the feeling of having far too many things to do in a day than hours available, right?  There are a lot of different tips and ways that you can handle such a workload.  One such technique of determining how to handle a heavy workload is something that Phil actually taught to us.  It’s the Three “D’s”: Do It, Delegate It, DeferIt! Start by looking at your To Do List – – which we hope all of you have, because…

8 Year-End Practice Building Tips to Implement RIGHT NOW

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law As your business winds down near year-end (unlike 2012, when everyone was doing last-minute wealth transfer planning because of anticipated changes in the estate tax laws), it’s a good time to work on your business – – rather than in your business, as we practitioners are often trapped doing throughout the year. Hopefully, this article will serve as a brief checklist of action steps you can take now to assure a more effective, profitable and enjoyable 2014.  By the way, this…

7 Tips for Taking Better Notes & Being More Efficient!

By Kristina Schneider & Megan DeLaGarza, Executive Assistants Whether you’re an executive assistant or any other type of administrative staff member, note-taking is an inevitable and unavoidable task that you will have in your daily routine.  There are so many different details and tasks necessary to complete your job that it is impossible to keep track of them all.  If you aren’t currently in the practice of taking notes during your meetings with your boss or supervisor, we highly recommend that you start now.  It’s a great way to prevent overlooking the small items and, if there’s ever any confusion…

Reflections on Building a Boutique Firm: Looking Back Four Years Later by Tom Wallerstein

Back in July, my firm celebrated its fourth anniversary. I can’t believe it has been that long. It seems like yesterday that I was sitting at my desk at Quinn Emanuel, thinking about cases worth millions of dollars but still too small to be economically handled by traditional Biglaw firms. I wondered if I might try to serve a growing market hungry for less expensive, but still high quality litigation. Not long thereafter I was conspiring with my partner over the details, drafting business plans, and conducting informal marketing surveys. As my firm approaches its fourth anniversary, it’s interesting for…

Practical Planner – Your Planning Team (Volume 8, Issue 3)

Martin “Marty” Shenkman, Esq., CPA, MBA is an estate planning attorney and Certified Public Accountant who authors a number of publications each month, including his monthly e-mail newsletter, “Practical Planner“. Below is the second installment from Marty’s May/June 2013 newsletter. To be added to Marty’s monthly e-mail distribution list, e-mail newsletter@shenkmanlaw.com. YOUR PLANNING TEAM Summary: Fostering a coordinated financial and estate planning team is one of the most important steps that you can take to assure that your planning is properly handled. My apologies if some portions of this article ruffle feathers, but that’s far better than the adverse consequences…

How “Electronically” Organized Are You?

By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach In last month’s newsletter, we discussed the top tips to get yourself more organized in your office space and through your daily workload, but your organization isn’t just about what’s on the outside.  How about your electronic files on the computer?  If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes looking for a file or trying to find an e-mail to respond to, then you might not be as electronically organized as you should be in order to be an effective and efficient assistant. As a follow-up to last month’s article, here are some tips about…

The Next “Ultimate Level” 2-Day Attorney Training Announced

REDONDO BEACH, CA—The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. is pleased to announce the dates for its next and third 2 and a half-day practice-building attorney training program, “The Ultimate LevelSM”. The next Ultimate Level program will be held on Thursday, October 3rd through Saturday, October 5th in beautiful, sunny Redondo Beach, California. It will feature a tour of Mr. Kavesh’s law firm, Kavesh, Minor & Otis and this time will be limited to fifteen select attorneys (and their key staff members and associates). Interested in taking YOUR practice to the “ultimate level”? If so, call us at 1-866-754-6477 for more information…